YESTERDAY, a large group of students of St Leonard’s Boys’ Secondary School were required to give their names and their forms to gain entry to the Richmond Gap, St Michael school.
When the MIDWEEK NATION visited the school at about 9:10 a.m., almost 50 students were outside the gate waiting to be allowed to enter the school compound.
Principal Joseph King said the action was sparked by the ongoing problem of students arriving late for the school’s starting time of 7:50 a.m.
“We are trying to stem the chronic problem of lateness because we have had complaints of boys loitering in the bus stand and [at] other schools,” he said.
King explained that the gate was closed because if all the late students were allowed onto the premises at once it would be impossible to get them registered. “Ideally the boys should be assembled at 7:50 a.m. and when the gate is closed, it is closed for registration.”
The school has implemented a system of recording the boys when they arrive late. Under the system there are three types of lateness documented, with varying forms of discipline applied.
One of the problems noted was that students were giving incorrect names and forms at the gate. King said: “The school has implemented a late attendance system, where each year group will have a photo register to assist with identifying students. However, the school is in the process of updating the book.”
Up until the time the MIDWEEK NATION team left the school – about 9:40 a.m. – some students were still seen making their way to the school. One teacher explained that at that time they would have missed assembly, which runs from 7:50 a.m. to 8:20 a.m., as well as the first two teaching periods of that day. However, King explained that the problem was not specific to St Leonard’s.
The principal expressed concern that every time an effort was made to instil discipline, persons believed that the media should be called in. “It erodes the authority and sends a signal to undermine that authority in the country, which is not a good thing,”, he said.
King was confident that the course taken will bear some fruit as every parent had been equipped with a copy of the Late System booklet. He said: “The system could work. It just needs to be policed to be effective. Unless you are consistent in whatever course you implement, they [the students] will test you.”
He said that if the system was implemented consistently the number of late students would fall to an average of 10 or 12 per day, with those cases being genuine cases where the students may have a letter of excuse, “with the exception of the truant group who would tend to want to loiter”.
When asked if the problem stemmed from the early starting time of the school day, King said: “The school day has been starting at that time for five years and we did a survey which showed that they [the students] can get here on time.” (LK)
